Washington, D.C., City Council member Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist, has won the Democratic primary for mayor, NBC News projects, putting her in line to manage the capital city and its relationship with President Donald Trump.
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With three-fourths of the expected vote tallied, Lewis George led Kenyan McDuffie, a former City Council member, 53% to 37%. McDuffie conceded the primary to Lewis George on Thursday morning.
“Earlier this morning, I called Councilmember Janeese Lewis George to congratulate her on her victory and wish her success as she prepares for the general election,” McDuffie said in a statement.
Lewis George, who has held a council seat stretching from the northern corner of the city since she was first elected in 2020, also faced five other Democratic hopefuls, who got single-digit support.
Lewis George is on course to be a heavy general election favorite in the deep-blue city, and the primary marks another major advance for democratic socialists in municipal politics around the country.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in his first year in office after a swift and surprising rise, while Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman advanced to a runoff this month in the race for mayor there, where an early Los Angeles Times poll indicates a close race against Mayor Karen Bass, who is also a Democrat.
In Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser is retiring after three terms defined in part by Trump and his time in the White House. Bowser has had a more conciliatory relationship with Trump during his second term. When he deployed National Guard troops to Washington last year in a bid to lower crime rates, Bowser opposed but accepted the move, which also happened in other cities.
Trump told reporters at the White House this month that “we won’t put up with it” if Lewis George won and that he would consider a federal takeover of Washington.
Lewis George said in a statement in response: “Threatening Home Rule because you do not like how residents vote is an attack on democracy itself. The people of D.C. elect the mayor of D.C. And they want someone who will stand up to Donald Trump.”
While Trump loomed over the race, local issues took center stage, as the candidates discussed plans to lower crime and promote affordability, especially with regard to housing.
It was Washington’s first mayoral race since voters passed a ballot measure instituting ranked-choice voting, which didn’t figure into the Democratic mayoral results. The system applies when no candidate gets a majority of first-place votes.
Now, instead of victory going to a candidate with a plurality, support from lower-performing candidates is reallocated to those voters’ next choices until one candidate has a majority of the vote.
